LONDON, July 30: Europe's main stock markets fell further on Monday following last week's tumble and amid takeover activity for the banking and chemicals sectors straddling London and Amsterdam.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading blue-chip shares dropped 0.27 per cent to 6,198.50 points nearing the half-way stage.

In Frankfurt the DAX 30 lost 0.61 per cent to 7,406.13 points and the Paris CAC 40 shed 0.38 per cent to 5,622.53.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares slid 0.51 per cent to 4,222.94 points.

The euro stood at 1.3670 dollars.

European stock markets had fallen heavily for most of last week amid concern that a weak US housing market could hurt the world economy.

The bruised US stock market slid further Friday, while on Monday, Japanese equities closed marginally higher after a defeat for the Tokyo government in weekend elections.

In London, the share price of Barclays Bank dropped by 1.25 per cent to 673.5 pence as Dutch bank ABN Amro withdrew its support for the British company's takeover bid.

ABN added that it was neither recommending a rival offer from a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

The FTSE's biggest gainer was Imperial Chemical Industries, which surged 6.50 per cent to 614.5 pence after the group announced it had rejected an improved takeover bid from Dutch rival Akzo Nobel worth 7.8 billion pounds.

Akzo won 0.13 per cent to 60.67 euros in Amsterdam.—AFP